Dog Day
by Kandid
Summary: Inukashi realizes that he had a true treasure in front of his nose all this time.


**Hey guys, this is a story written for No.6 Day celebration of the Dog day (see the event here, just remove spaces:** **Restructuralcommittee . tumblr post/124400931190/did-you-know-that-august-26-is-national-dog-day).** **The story is dedicated to my friend AhikuBoruchi (fanfiction u/5017824/) and her love for all things No. 6. Please check out her stories here, they're AWESOME.** **I do not own any of the characters mentioned here, and if linking or mentioning tumblr is forbidden I'm really sorry, but it's for a good cause so please be lenient.** **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story, and please tell me what you think in the reviews. Take care. :)**

-.-

"Okay, now you come here!" Inukashi commanded the languid old dog which was watching from the shadow cast by a pile of planks as the puppies jumped in and out of the pail while his nephew and the other young dog he recently met were trying to wash them.

" _ME?!_ " the dog's brow asked wordlessly. "Oh, no you don't, young'un."

The old dog leisurely got his bottom half up and stretched while digging his front paws forward, yawning with his tongue out. "Nonsense," he thought.

"Hey, get back here!" Inukashi yelled after him without much harshness in his voice as the geezer sedately strolled back towards the ruins. " _Tsk,_ " smirked Inukashi and wiped a few soap suds from the tip of his nose with what was left of his sleeve. "I should've known that won't work. I can never get that one to wash up."

"But, is that O.K.?" asked Shion. "Won't your guests complaint if he's full of flees?"

"No… I don't rent that dog out to customers. He's too old anyway, and farts a lot in his sleep. They complained much more about that… Besides, he's family."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"He's my uncle. My mum's older brother."

"Oh, I see… He must be really old then, right?"

"Yeah… I'm not sure how old I am but I think I'm definitely younger than you and that third-rate fraud of an actor whose skirt you're always clinging to, but when my mum was alive he was already a fully grown dog. He's gotta be at least 80 in dog years."

"Oh, wow."

"Yeah…"

"Do you miss her? Your mum, I mean."

Inukashi looked up at Shion inquisitively, as if to ask _are you kidding me?_

"O-Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't want to make fun of you or anything. It's just that I've never been away from my mother for so long and now… now I have no idea if I'll ever get to see her again... So I thought that maybe… you know, since your mum is…

I'm sorry. I'll try not to say something as stupid as that ever again."

Inukashi kept staring at Shion for a few more moments, scanning his face for the tiniest trace of a smirk, a grin, or anything to indicate he was being made fun of. He had even firmly grasped the brush he was holding, ready to launch it at the other boy's face in a second. But all he saw was a minuscule motion of Shion's eyelids as they became heavy with sorrow. This infinitesimally brief movement was not something any human would be able to make willingly, and Inukashi's experience had taught him that. "Always look at the other creature's eyes," his mum had said once. "That is very powerful. The second they look away you've won. As long as you can look any animal in the eyes you can read their soul and then you will see if they are angry, or hurt, or sad, or anything. No word can be as true as what you see in the eyes."

His grip loosened and he looked down.

"Yeah… I think about her sometimes. I even talk with my uncle about her, before going to sleep, or after a good meal. But, what good is it to talk about such nonsense? She's dead and I'm not and that's it."

"But doesn't that make you sad?"

"You really are an airhead! Stop asking idiotic questions and get back to work, or I'll not only _not_ give you lunch I'll even dedad..dedcut… didcad… I'll give you less money!"

"You would _deduct_ it from my salary?"

"Don't be a smart-ass!"

Inukashi rose with a "humpf" sound and went after the old dog. Shion looked at him for a moment, sniffed once and then saw one of the youngest puppies gnawing on the end of his right shoelace. "Aaawww aren't you the cutest thing ever! Look at your tail!" he shouted and smiled.

Inukashi heard the shout and turned around, but when he saw the boy gently holding the puppy up and rubbing his nose against its belly, he couldn't help but smile himself. Just a little, tiny bit. "Such a natural airhead…".

-.-

The interior of the hotel, robbed of its former, materialistic splendour, still held an air of grandeur for Shion. He now loved walking through the half-dilapidated hallways and wrestling with Inukashi's dogs around the Grand Lobby. Deep down the dogs had always known he was human, but saw him more as one of Inukashi's sorts: furless, a bit young, and totally helpless fellow dog-at-soul. It was in the scent of the air from his lungs, in the smell of his skin and in the movements of his limbs. But, mostly in his eyes. The dogs had always accepted Inukashi as the leader of the pack because it was the way it was, because he provided food and love, and he smelled like a dog since he had been sucking on one as a baby. But shion… he was rare.

"What is that?" a young brown dog asked his peer.

"Humans… two…no, wait…" _sniff, sniff_ "the rat boy and… and something else…I've never smelled anything like it. Be ready."

The dogs scattered around the lobby to await their visitors. Having read their behaviour and understood their thoughts, Inukashi himself dashed to the top of the stairs where the light of the candle couldn't reach him. Several moments later Rat Boy and "it" walked in.

"What is that? What?" The dogs started talking amongst themselves.

"It smells human but also… not human…"

"Is it for eating?"

"Idiot! Not everything is food!"

"I'm gonna take a closer look."

"Be careful! Be careful!"

One of the dogs approached "it" and silently bared its teeth as a precaution. Just as his nature dictated, it gazed deep into the new thing's eyes.

"Such… love."

The thing held out its hand and the dog got a good whiff.

"It… it's a… a puppy!"

Immediately the big dog covered its teeth and licked the puppy's hand.

"I guess I passed the interview," Shion smiled at Nezumi.

-.-

Five days had passed since Shion and Inukashi talked about their mums, and Inukashi remembered her again. "She was such a good mother to me," he thought. "Why the hell did you have to go steal those brats' dinner and get beaten to death!? I know you were hungry, but still… such a stupid, idiotic move. What the hell, man… I mean, mum."

"She was a good mother, weren't she?"

"What's that, uncle?"

"She was a good mother."

"Yeah… Anyway, get the other dogs, you old fart. Grub's gonna be ready soon."

"None for me, thank you, young'un."

"What? You're not hungry? How come? Did you find something to chew on today?"

"Nope. I'm just… not hungry… and I'm so tired."

"Well, you've gotta eat something. Here, I'll leave some of it in this bowl, come get me when you want to eat."

"Thanks, young'un. Say, I never asked you this, but what do you think how old are we, you and I? I heard you mention it to that other pup today."

"I have no idea… But, does it really matter? I mean, I could tell you that you are maybe around 80 in dog years and I should be somewhere between 14 and 16 in human years. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I've just been feeling really old these past few months. Like my whole body aches when I move. Wouldn't it be nice to know the day when you were born so you know how old you really are?"

"Seriously? Like a _birthday_ , you mean?"

"Yes, yes, exactly. A birth day. That sounds nice. I wish I knew my birth day."

"Way to invent hot water, old fart... Humans have been celebrating birthdays since, like, forever."

"Really?"

"Don't tell me you really never heard about birthdays?!"

"No, no I haven't… So, what is a birthday like?"

"Oh… well, I'm not really sure because I certainly never had one and I've never been to one either, but I heard that for a real, proper birthday you need a party, a pie, and lots of candles. You invite all your friends over for the party, you eat the pie, and… I'm not entirely sure about the candles, but I think you're supposed to blow them out, so maybe you place them around the house when it gets dark and everybody goes around blowing out candles. Although that does sound a bit stupid now that I think about it… if you leave your house in the dark people could steal things. Hmmm…" Inukashi said and tilted his head slightly to the left, grasping his chin in thought.

"Oh, wow… I would love to have a birth day. It sounds like so much fun."

"Well, I'll be having none of it, thank you."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean 'why not', uncle? I have no intention of paying for a pie and all those candles! And who in the world would I ever leave unattended in my house, in the dark? Nonsense."

"Come now… there is the rat boy, and that other puppy you were playing with today. You could invite them."

"Seriously? I'm gonna smack you on that grey head of yours in a bit, cause I think there might be something seriously wrong with it! Invite that demon fox and its tail to a birthday party? I've never heard anything so funny in my life! 'Hey, I love you guys, you are my only friends, do you wanna come to my birthday party? We can make flower bouquets and while I'm already completely mad, let's take all my stashed away money and hand it over to the poor.' Hahahahaha."

"Well, say what you want, but I think it's a wonderful idea. And I want you to promise me that you will have at least one birth day party in your life. If you want, you can wait until after I die."

"Wow, are you sure you don't have a fever?"

"Promise me, young'un."

"Come on, lay off. There's no way that's gonna happen. Besides, I have no idea when I was born. Should I just pick a date at random? Maybe the international dog day, August 26. That would at least be convenient, huh?"

"young'un…"

"Aaahhh… fine, fine, you old fart. I promise. But don't get any other stupid ideas for a while, ok?"

"Very well. Thank you, young'un. I just really want you to be happy."

"Honestly, what's gotten into you today?"

"I don't know… Anyway, I'm gonna go to sleep, I'm really tired. Don't forget about that birth day, now. With the pie and candles…" the old dog's muttering got quieter as he was walking away.

-.-

"What's the matter, boy? Everything all right?" Shion said when he opened the door to the wails of a young brown dog. "Is Inukashi all right? You want us to follow you?"

Shion looked at Nezumi who furrowed his brow, slightly nodded and grabbed his jacket.

"Inukashi! Inukashi!" Shion yelled as they ran towards the hotel.

"Back here!" the dog lender's voice replied.

"Are you hurt? Is everything all right?" Shion asked, out of breath, when he saw Inukashi's willowy silhouette glistening with sweat and dirt in the light of dawn. His hair no less messed up, damp from dew and mud.

"Help me dig a grave." Inukashi said.

"What? What happened?" Shion asked, regaining his composure, while Nezumi found a tree to lean against.

"My uncle died tonight. I just found him. I didn't know what else to do, the ground is almost frozen solid… I… I…"

"So you dragged us all the way here at dawn to dig a grave for one of your mutts? Oh, that is gonna cost you, dog boy… I have no intention of…" Nezumi started protesting, but was interrupted by a brief kick in the ribs. "Hey!"

"All right. We'll help. Where are the shovels?" Shion said.

"I don't have any… Try to use these planks; I've sharpened them with a knife. They should do the trick. And don't worry, you demon, I am well aware of your prices and I would never want to owe _you_ anything!"

"As long as we're on the same page here." Nezumi said while taking off his jacket. "Give me one of those 'shovels'."

Once the grave was dug deep enough three silhouettes stood next to it as the smallest one placed a carefully wrapped body in it. It then knelt beside it and kept its hand on the wraps.

"Goodbye, you old fart. No more fleas for you, huh? I hope they feed you only fresh meat off the bone where you're going. And say hi to my mum, will you?"

Another lanky silhouette dropped down on its knees beside the other one, tears streaming down its face followed by irregular but heart-breaking morose gasps for air.

"Shion? What… why are you…" Inukashi looked at the boy genuinely startled by his reaction.

"You loved him… you loved him so much, but… but you're strong and… and you would never cry after him… so that's why… that's why I'll cry in your stead!" The boy wept.

Nezumi approached the crying boy and gently ran his fingers through his hair before covering him with his jacket.

Inukashi took a step back and just stood there, mouth open, eyes quickly watering up. _What the hell, man_ , he thought. _Seriously, WHAT is this guy? He… he would do THAT for me?! Why?_

It took him a bit of time to understand that not only was Shion shoving his weakness in front of him, but Nezumi was too, since he allowed Inukashi to see just how much he actually loved the white-haired airhead. He even had his back turned to him, which was unthinkable, in most any circumstance.

Inukashi looked at the two of them for a few more moments, and finally understood the truth and wisdom behind his uncle's last request.

"I… guys, you… do you wanna come to my birthday party?"


End file.
